


'Cause I Didn't Know How To Deal

by abkvs



Category: Long Exposure (Webcomic)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-27
Updated: 2017-11-27
Packaged: 2019-02-07 11:47:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12840513
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/abkvs/pseuds/abkvs
Summary: What if Dean hadn't called?





	'Cause I Didn't Know How To Deal

**Author's Note:**

> Whipped this up in an hour or two after Mars shot me through the heart with the new Patreon pages (seriously, y'all should pledge, it's worth it). This is how I cope. Enjoy!

**"'Cause I didn't know how to deal with havin' a fuckin' crush on a boy, alright!?"**

The words hung heavy in the air. It was getting a little colder, but somehow Jonas expected that wasn't the reason for the searing red blooming across Mitch's face. The stars dangled above them both as if they were watching, waiting, _eager_ to see what would come next.

"Um I—I don't, um…" Jonas sputtered out a few words and then went quiet as his cheeks began to burn. "I, um," he stuttered again, dragging his eyes away from Mitch, whose head was buried in his hands.

Somewhere not far away, a cricket mocked them.

Jonas, for his part, stared at his toes, which had dug into the sand and then out again, making pockets here and there by his feet. They felt a little chilly. He inhaled. Mitch still hadn't said anything. When he glanced at him, Mitch's face was pressed against his knees, like he was trying to slowly implode from shame alone.

"I don't understand," Jonas said. It was a lie. He was pretty sure he understood. But he had to be sure.

"It's—nevermind." There was scuffling and scraping as Mitch picked himself up, his lanky frame wobbling a bit. He was looking away from Jonas, somewhere back into the woods. "Nevermind." He started to walk. He was going to leave.

"Don't—!" Jonas scrambled to his feet. "Please. Please don't go," he begged, but Mitch was picking up his clothes and Jonas, in a panic, yelled the first thing that came to mind. "Me too!"

That made Mitch pause, and then look at him. His pale face was painted red. He stood up straight, his last sock left on the ground. Jonas was hesitant to move, as if Mitch was some wild animal that would bolt the second he twitched the wrong way.

"I—I'm also… trying to figure that out."

When Mitch kept still, Jonas inched forward, closing the broad space between them bit by bit, until they were barely a foot apart, staring at each other with blushed faces and curious eyes.

"Oh… yeah?" Mitch asked, failing utterly at sounding composed. "Who's the lucky guy?"

"I don't know if I'd call him lucky—"

"He is."

Jonas flushed and tossed a punch like a wet paper towel at Mitch's forearm. "Nah, 'cause I gotta bully him now," he said, worrying his lips around an almost-smile.

At that, Mitch let himself chuckle a little. Jonas could almost hear the tension release from his shoulders. "Yeah, I guess you do," he said. Then, after a moment, he sighed. "I'm sorry, Joey. Fer everythin'." He looked like a kicked puppy, Jonas thought.

"It's okay," he replied.

"It's not, though," Mitch said.

Jonas sighed. "No, you're right, it's not, but…" Little pink ribbons flickered around him—then, around them both. "I forgive you anyways." He shifted his soft, lopsided smile up towards Mitch, who looked positively shellshocked. "And, you know, maybe we could… figure out the right way to handle these feelings… together?"

Mitch swallowed thickly. "God, I, hah, must be drunk still 'cause I could swear you just—just—" He fumbled over his words; Jonas thought it was kind of cute.

"Yeah. I did."

"You—?"

"Like you."

Mitch slapped a hand to his forehead, dropping all of his clothes as he sat down hard on a rock. "Ho-ly _shit_."

Jonas giggled a little. "Need to process?"

"Need to process."

Jonas sat back down in the sand next to Mitch's rock and dragged his hoodie into his lap to stuff it over his head. He leaned his damp hair against Mitch's thigh, and when the silence again became too much, he said, "Sidney figured it out, you know. That you liked me. I thought she was nuts."

"…Damn, your clone? I guess she's gotta be smart if she's made outta the same stuff as you..."

Jonas pursed and unpursed his lips as he drew lines in the sand. "So... you… really liked me? All this time?" he asked, his voice barely more than a whisper.

Mitch slid down off of the rock to sit in the sand. "Yeah," he said, rubbing his hands over his face. "Even when I was gone outta here. Got myself a girlfriend, tried to believe I wasn't into dudes, but, man, I was always thinkin' about you."

Jonas scooted forward so he could rest his head on Mitch's arm.

Mitch continued, "Couldn't stop thinkin' about yer face. And when I got back you'd only managed to get cuter and—damn I'm pretty sure my entire first day back was just me acting on every impulse I had, 'cause I didn't know how to… handle it. Seeing you again."

A comfortable silence settled between them again, and after a while, Mitch's arm found its way around Jonas's shoulder. Jonas pressed his head against Mitch's chest and let the sound of his heartbeat soothe him for a while. The sky got darker. The air got colder. When Mitch shivered, Jonas whispered, "We should… probably get dressed." When Mitch finished pulling his shirt over his shoulders a minute later, Jonas was standing there, looking up at him like he wanted something.

As pink light danced around them both, casting rosy shadows on their contrasting frames—as expectant stars twinkled in the sky and gentle waves shuffled along the shore, Mitch leaned down—and Jonas rose up—and finally, finally, they shared a kiss.


End file.
